Toy Review - Age of Extinction Autobot Hound (Voyager)

[GoktimusPrime]

AUTOBOT BULKHEAD HOUND
Series - Transformers Generations
Sub-line – Age of Extinction
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco – New
Wave – 2, 2014
Released here - June 2014
Approximate Retail Price - $50
Approximate Size – 15.7cm
Allegiance -Autobot
Alt-mode – Oshkosh Medium Defence Tactical vehicle
Main Features/Gimmicks – N/A
Main Colours – dark green
Main Accessories – knife & a load of guns!

Pictures




Thoughts

Pros
+ Reasonably solid figure in both vehicle and robot modes.
+ 22 points of articulation!
+ A fair amount of painted decos, something that's been sorely lacking in a lot of other AoE toys. Glad to see faux kibble parts like the lights on the shoulders and faux-tyre feet are painted.
+ Seven guns and a knife! Tacker^Hound is a freakin' walking armoury! I quite like how the big rifle transforms into a rack of mini-guns for the vehicle, and the other guns can also attach on other parts of the vehicle too. Half of these guns can combine to form larger guns (similar to Generations Skids' guns).
+ The vehicle panels are reasonably well incorporated into the robot. This helps to avoid making Bulkhead^Hound a shellformer or backpackformer (like Optimus Prime & Galvatron). I would've liked to see the vehicle panels that cover the hands swing or fold back to better reveal the hands, but overall I'm quite satisfied with how what they've done w/ the vehicle panels in the robot mode.
+ The overall shape/design of Bluto^Hound's robot mode really makes him look big and bulky (but not tubby like the movie model appears ), and is also reminiscent of a modern day soldier, with the head resembling an army helmet.

Cons
- I'm not a big fan of the curvaceous forearms. The rubber "skin" that covers them also hinders wrist articulation.
- The panels that connect the shoulders do the body don't lock in tightly (they're supposed to do, but the tabs (which are the wing mirrors) or clips are too thin. The panels happen to be stiff enough that it still holds up just fine without it -- but this could become a potential problem in the future as these panels become loser with regular play. Time will tell.
- Minor gripe: While this toy is nicely decoed by AoE standards (cough), it could still be better done; e.g. hubcaps are still unpainted. I suppose they decided to dedicate more paint apps on the body of the toy at the expense of things like the hubcaps... if so, then I guess it's not a bad compromise. The TakaraTOMY version doesn't appear to be any better.

Overall
One of the best AoE Voyagers next to Evasion Mode Optimus Prime. This toy has a better decoed robot mode and better formed vehicle mode than EMOP, but I prefer the actual engineering of Optimus Prime's robot mode. All in all, I'd rate them both as being pretty much on par with each other. Recommended.

[Omega Metro]

Yep, Sergeant Kup is a real trooper! My only complaint is that he is soooo tiny in truck mode. But well recommended otherwise.

[GoktimusPrime]

Yep, Sergeant Kup is a real trooper!

lololololololol

[Sinnertwin]

Pfft. 7 guns, 1 knife & he still gets taken down by a grey shellformer. Soft.

[Zommael]

I got mine today, and he's awesome. I love the sheer amount of weaponry, sculpted detail, and paint this guy has. The transformation is simple enough, but one look at robot mode isn't enough to tell you how it transforms into vehicle mode, only that it can, which is generally a good sign that a TF is high quality. Probably the best AOE toy so far, and one of the better transformers will stop.

The shoulders on mine lock in just fine, although the left is slightly better than the right, so maybe you just got a dud, Goki. On the other hand the weapons don't tend to stay on so brilliantly in vehicle mode (and there doesn't seem to be anywhere for the two smaller guns and the knife in that mode) and the two larger guns will not attach to the torso.

Other than those caveats, he's otherwise awesome though. BUY THIS TOY.

[KingGrimlock]

The shoulders on mine lock in just fine, although the left is slightly better than the right, so maybe you just got a dud, Goki. On the other hand the weapons don't tend to stay on so brilliantly in vehicle mode (and there doesn't seem to be anywhere for the two smaller guns and the knife in that mode) and the two larger guns will not attach to the torso.

Other than those caveats, he's otherwise awesome though. BUY THIS TOY.

Both shoulders on mine lock in really well, as for the larger guns on the side of his chest, they need to have the handles out to lock in more securely, I think the handles are only meant to be folded in when they are plugged into vehicle mode. I attach the knife to the front of the truck on the right side so it looks like it could impale someone. Overall great figure but would be nice if the weapons were more secure in vehicle mode, but thats the only complaint I have.

[Pipesqueak]

A really good design but, like so many modern Transformers, let down badly by its small size and associated weaknesses. Would be so much better if just a bit bigger and sturdier all round so the panels would feel less flimsy, the weapons would stay attached and the leg joints would feel like they would stand the test of time (Whatever happened to ratcheting? Only in leader class now?) The lack of heels is really annoying and makes posing difficult and alt mode is really deluxe, not voyager sized. Arguably worth it on balance for the cool robot mode and fun weapons, but only on the much reduced standards of today.

[GoktimusPrime]

The shoulders on mine lock in just fine, although the left is slightly better than the right, so maybe you just got a dud, Goki.

Both shoulders on mine lock in really well,

hmm... I still have the receipt for mine, so perhaps I'll try and get an exchange or get another one and refund the older one.

P.S.: Exchanged my Hound earlier today. Have yet to open the new one. Here's hopin'...

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Discovered Hasbro's channel had busted up a designer interview video with some interesting stuff on Hound.

I think it looks pretty cool and look forward to seeing one in person.
Linky : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiqWIhOyIyQ

[KingGrimlock]

Discovered Hasbro's channel had busted up a designer interview video with some interesting stuff on Hound.

I think it looks pretty cool and look forward to seeing one in person.
Linky : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiqWIhOyIyQ

THANK YOU!!! I hated the way I had my hound hold his gattling gun like it was a rifle. Now I see the way he is meant to hold it thanks to the video, it was bugging my brain because looking at the guns design I knew there had to be another way but I couldnt figure it out.